Method and system for controlling functionality of lighting devices from a portable electronic device

ABSTRACT

A system for controlling lighting devices at one or more light-enabled facilities includes a portable electronic device with an app that communicates with a gateway controller at each facility, and/or a remote server. The portable electronic device pairs with a gateway controller upon arrival at the facility. The portable electronic device may receive available scenes from the gateway controller upon arrival, or from the remote server before arrival, and it may select scenes for the gateway controller to implement. Each scene will adjust various hardware settings of the lighting devices to alter the optical characteristics of emitted light at various times. The system also may use geolocation data to identify and schedule lighting services at various light-enabled facilities in a geographic area.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure is related to a method and system for controllingfunctionality of light devices and in particular to a method and systemfor controlling light devices from a portable electronic device.

Modern lighting systems include many features that were not previouslyavailable to facility operators and users. For example, lighting systemsthat include light emitting diode (LED) luminaires or other types ofluminaires may offer features such as: controllable dimming; colorselection and color tuning; adjustment of other characteristics ofemitted light such as color temperature or D_(uv); control of the shapeand/or direction of emitted light beams; and pre-programmed scenes orcustomized scenes that incorporate a set of pre-programmed features.

In facilities such as theaters, concert venues, sports fields andstadiums, and even in commercial buildings, the lighting needs canchange frequently depending on who is using the facility at any giventime. For example, a venue may be used for a convention or businessmeeting during the day and a concert or social event in the evening. Asports field may be used for a football or soccer game at one time ofday and a lacrosse team practice at another time of day. However,lighting systems do not easily adapt to the needs of each user andevent. Instead, lighting systems are typically set in a “fully on” or“fully off” arrangement unless the facility is staffed with technicianswho can manually change the lighting system scenarios in response to newusers' needs.

This disclosure describes methods and systems for controlling thefunctionality of a network of one or more lighting devices.

SUMMARY

A system for controlling one or more lighting devices in a lightingdevice control system includes a portable electronic device with aprocessor and a user interface. The portable electronic device and/or aremote server that is in communication with the portable electronicdevice includes a memory device. The memory device contains programminginstructions for a lighting system control of the portable electronicdevice. The system detects that the portable electronic device haspaired with a gateway controller in proximity to the portable electronicdevice. The gateway controller is communicatively coupled to one or morefixture controllers, and each fixture controller is connected to one ormore lighting devices in a network of lighting devices. In someembodiments, the portable electronic device may pair with the gatewaycontroller via a short-range or near field transmitter of the gatewaycontroller.

The system may further identify one or more scenes and display thescenes on the user interface. Each scene includes a set of datacorresponding to one or more optical characteristics of at least a firstlighting device in the network. Optionally, the portable electronicdevice may receive the one or more scenes from the gateway controllerafter pairing with the gateway controller. The portable electronicdevice may also receive the one or more scenes from a remote server.

The portable electronic device may receive, via the user interface, auser selection of a scene from the one or more scenes; identify a timeduration for the scene; and generate or otherwise identify a lightoperation request that includes the selected scene and the timeduration.

The system may confirm that the portable electronic device is authorizedto initiate the light operation request. Upon confirmation, the portableelectronic device may transmit the light operation request to thegateway controller to cause the gateway controller to activate the atleast one of the one or more lighting devices according to the selectedscene and the time duration. In confirming that the portable electronicdevice is authorized to cause the network of lighting devices toimplement the light operation request, the portable electronic devicemay have an associated account identifier, and it may transmitcredential data that includes the account identifier to a remote server,and receive a confirmation from the remote server in response to thecredential data. Alternatively, after sending the light operationrequest, the portable electronic device may also receive, from thegateway controller, a confirmation that the light operation request hasbeen authorized. The portable electronic device may display theconfirmation on the user interface.

Before the time duration for the light operation request expires, theportable electronic device may receive, from the gateway controller, asignal indicating that the time duration is about to expire. The usermay cause the system to extend the time duration to an extended time viathe user interface. The portable electronic device may transmit therequest to extend the time duration to the gateway controller so thatthe gateway controller may cause at least the first lighting device tocontinue to emit light through the extended time.

In some scenarios, the portable electronic device may also sendgeolocation data to a remote server. The geolocation data indicates alocation of the portable electronic device. The portable electronicdevice may receive, from the remote server, availability data formultiple light-enabled facilities that are within a distance range ofthe location. Each of the facilities includes a gateway controller andmultiple lighting devices. The user interface may output identifyinginformation for the light-enabled facilities so that a user can selectone of the light-enabled facilities to which to direct the lightoperation request.

In some scenarios, a system for controlling one or more networkedlighting devices may include a gateway controller communicativelyconnected to multiple networked lighting devices and a portableelectronic device. The gateway controller includes a processor, and awireless communication interface that includes a short-range ornear-field antenna. The portable electronic device includes a processor,a user interface, and a memory device containing programminginstructions for a lighting system control application running on theportable electronic device. The gateway controller may communicativelyconnect with the portable electronic device when the portable electronicdevice is in a proximate communication range of the gateway controller.The gateway controller may receive from the portable electronic device auser selection of a scene from the one or more scenes, identify a timeduration for the scene, and generate or otherwise identify a lightoperation request that includes the selected scene and the timeduration. The gateway controller will activate at least a first one ofthe lighting devices according to the selected scene and the timeduration.

In some scenarios, a system for controlling one or more networkedlighting devices includes multiple gateway controllers and a server.Each of the gateway controllers is associated with a light-enabledfacility. Each gateway controller includes a processor and a wirelesscommunication interface that communicatively connected to multiplenetworked lighting devices at the associated light-enabled facility. Theserver is communicatively connected to the gateway controllers of eachof the light-enabled facilities. The server also includes a processor.The server may include or be communicatively connected to a database ofidentifying information for multiple light-enabled facilities. Thedatabase also may include lighting service schedules indicating timeperiods at which each of the light-enabled facilities are available.

The server may communicatively connect with a portable electronic devicehaving a user interface, receive geolocation data from the portableelectronic device, use the geolocation data to determine a location ofthe portable electronic device, and identify a group of thelight-enabled facilities that are within a distance range from thelocation. For each of the light-enabled facilities in the group, theserver may transmit at least one or more available lighting serviceschedules from the multiple lighting service schedules in the databaseto the portable electronic device to be output by the user interface ofthe portable electronic device, to indicate which of the light-enabledfacilities are available at various times. The server may also receive,from the portable electronic device, a light operation request, whichincludes a selection of one of the light-enabled facilities in the groupand data for optical characteristics of light to be emitted by lightingdevices at the selected facility. The light operation request also mayinclude a service time that corresponds to one or more availablelighting service schedules for the selected light-enabled facility. Theserver may confirm that the portable electronic device is authorized toinitiate the light operation request, and optionally to reserve theselected light-enabled facility at the selected service tine. The serverwill then transmit the light operation request to the gateway controllerfor the selected light-enabled facility. Optionally, the server may alsoupdate the database to indicate that the selected facility has beenreserved at the selected time.

Each gateway controller in the system may communicatively connect to theportable electronic device when the portable electronic device is in aproximity of the gateway controller. The gateway controller maydetermine that the light operation request has been received for theportable electronic device, and that the portable electronic device hascommunicatively connected to the gateway controller at a time thatcorresponds to the lighting schedule. In response to that determination,the gateway controller may cause the gateway controller's connectedlighting devices to implement the light operation request at theselected light-enabled facility.

In confirming that the portable electronic device is authorized toreserve the selected light-enabled facility according to the selectedlighting service schedule, the server may receive, from the portableelectronic device, credential data that includes user credentials and anaccount identifier, and use the received credential data to determinethat the portable electronic device is authorized to reserve theselected light-enabled facility according to selected lighting serviceschedule. The server may also identify one or more scenes for theselected light-enabled facility, and receive a selection of one of thescenes with the light operation request from the portable electronicdevice. Each scene may include a set of data corresponding to one ormore optical characteristics of at least one the networked lightingdevices at the selected light-enabled facility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network of lighting devices, with aproximate mobile electronic device and gateway controller that are usedto control the light emitted by the network of devices.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a lighting device that may be used witha network of lighting devices.

FIG. 3 illustrates example steps that a gateway controller may take whenbeing used to control a lighting device.

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate example components of a gateway controllerand one or more fixture controllers of a lighting device.

FIG. 5 illustrates example steps that a portable electronic device maytake when being used to control a lighting device.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a portable electronic device userinterface that may be used to control the light emitted by one or morelighting devices.

FIG. 7 illustrates example steps that a portable electronic device maytake when being used to control a lighting device.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example user interface by which a user mayschedule lighting service at any of a plurality of facilities in ageographic region.

FIG. 9 illustrates example steps by which a system may control lightingservices at multiple light-enable facilities.

FIG. 10 illustrates various hardware components that may be included inone or more electronic devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used in this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skillin the art. In this document, when terms such “first” and “second” areused to modify a noun, such use is simply intended to distinguish oneitem from another, and is not intended to require a sequential orderunless specifically stated. As used in this document, the term“comprising” (or “comprises”) means “including (or includes), but notlimited to.”

In this document, the terms “lighting device,” “light fixture,”“luminaire” and “illumination device” are used interchangeably to referto a device that includes a source of optical radiation. Sources ofoptical radiation may include, for example, light emitting diodes(LEDs), light bulbs, ultraviolet light or infrared sources, or othersources of optical radiation. In the embodiments disclosed in thisdocument, the optical radiation emitted by the lighting devices includesvisible light. A lighting device will also include a housing, one ormore electrical components for conveying power from a power supply tothe device's optical radiation source, and optionally control circuitry.

In this document, the terms “communication link” and “communicationpath” mean a wired or wireless path via which a first device sendscommunication signals to and/or receives communication signals from oneor more other devices. Devices are “communicatively connected” if thedevices are able to send and/or receive data via a communication link.“Electronic communication” refers to the transmission of data via one ormore signals between two or more electronic devices, whether through awired or wireless network, and whether directly or indirectly via one ormore intermediary devices.

A “communication interface” of a gateway controller or other electronicdevice is a hardware element configured to enable the device to transmitand/or receive data signals from proximate devices and/or acommunication network. Communication interfaces for communicating withproximate devices may include, for example, a short range wirelesscommunication interface such as a transmitter, a near fieldcommunication (NFC) or radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag, or aBluetooth™ or Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BLE) transceiver. Communicationinterfaces for indirectly communicating with proximate or non-proximatedevices via one or more communication networks may include, for example,a wireless network card with wireless network antenna, a data port, orthe like.

In this document, the terms “controller” and “controller device” mean anelectronic device or system of devices configured to command orotherwise manage the operation of one or more other devices. Forexample, a fixture controller is a controller configured to manage theoperation of one or more light fixtures to which the fixture controlleris communicatively linked. A controller will typically include aprocessing device, and it will also include or have access to a memorydevice that contains programming instructions configured to cause thecontroller's processor to manage operation of the connected device ordevices.

In this document, the terms “memory” and “memory device” each refer to anon-transitory device on which computer-readable data, programminginstructions or both are stored. Except where specifically statedotherwise, the terms “memory” and “memory device” are intended toinclude single-device embodiments, embodiments in which multiple memorydevices together or collectively store a set of data or instructions, aswell as one or more individual sectors within such devices.

In this document, the terms “processor” and “processing device” refer toa hardware component of an electronic device (such as a controller) thatis configured to execute programming instructions. Except wherespecifically stated otherwise, the singular term “processor” or“processing device” is intended to include both single processing deviceembodiments and embodiments in which multiple processing devicestogether or collectively perform a process.

A “computing device” or “electronic device” refers to an electronicdevice having a processor, a memory device, and a communicationinterface for communicating with proximate and/or local devices. Thememory will contain or receive programming instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, will cause the electronic device to performone or more operations according to the programming instructions.Examples of electronic devices include personal computers, servers,mainframes, virtual machines, containers, gaming systems, televisions,and portable electronic devices such as smartphones, wearable virtualreality devices, Internet-connected wearables such as smart watches andsmart eyewear, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, laptopcomputers, media players and the like. Electronic devices also mayinclude appliances and other devices that can communicate in anInternet-of-things arrangement, such as smart thermostats, homecontroller devices, voice-activated digital home assistants, connectedlight bulbs and other devices. In a client-server arrangement, theclient device and the server are electronic devices, in which the servercontains instructions and/or data that the client device accesses viaone or more communications links in one or more communications networks.In a virtual machine arrangement, a server may be an electronic device,and each virtual machine or container may also be considered to be anelectronic device. In the discussion below, a client device, serverdevice, virtual machine or container may be referred to simply as a“device” for brevity. Additional elements that may be included inelectronic devices will be discussed below in the context of FIG. 8.

FIG. 1 illustrates a lighting system in which any number of lightingdevices 101, 102 are positioned at various locations in an environment,such as a wall, ceiling, mast, tower or other supporting structure in astadium, arena, concert hall, outdoor amphitheater, park or other sportsor entertainment facility, or a commercial building or otherlight-enabled facility. The lighting system also includes a gatewaycontroller 104 communicatively coupled to one or more fixturecontrollers 111, 112 that are connected to one or more lighting devices101, 102. Gateway controller 104 is configured to pair with a portableelectronic device 103, receive a light operation request from theportable electronic device 103 and control at least one lighting device101, 102 via the fixture controller 111, 112 according to the lightoperation request. Each of the gateway controller 104 and portableelectronic device 103 may be capable of communicating with acommunication network 105, such as a cellular communication work, anInternet, a mesh network or other wired or wireless communicationnetworks. The fixture controller 111, 112 includes various components ofan illumination device's control circuitry.

A remote server 106 also may be communicatively connected to thecommunication network 105 so that it can communicate with the portableelectronic device, gateway controller, and/or fixture controllers. Theremote server 106 may include or be connected one or more memory devicesthat collectively store a database 108 of data for multiplelight-enabled facilities, such as scheduling data, data about availablelighting devices and optional functions, available scenes, costs ofvarious services and other data. The portable electronic device 103 mayinclude a memory device containing programming instructions that areconfigured to cause the portable electronic device to perform variousfunctions. In addition, or alternatively, the portable electronic device103 may access the remote server 106 via a communication network 105 toobtain programming instructions that are stored on and received fromand/or executed by the remote server.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example lighting device 101 includes an opticalradiation source, such as any number of lighting modules that includeLEDs, and in various embodiments a number of LED modules sufficient toprovide a high intensity LED device. In various embodiments, a lightingdevice may include multiple types of LED modules. For example, alighting device may include a first type of LED module 203 having LEDsthat are configured to selectably emit white light of various colortemperatures, along with a second type of LED module 205 having LEDsthat are configured to selectably emit light of various colors. Thelighting device 101 may include a housing 201 that holds electricalcomponents such as a fixture controller, a power source, and wiring andcircuitry to supply power and/or control signals to the LED modules. Afixture controller may also be an external device to the lightingdevice.

In FIGS. 4a and 4b , example components of a gateway controller 401 andone or more fixture controllers 431 a, . . . 431 n are shown. In thisdocument, the term “gateway controller” refers to a central controllerdevice that receives commands from a remote electronic device and routesthe commands to appropriate lighting device fixture controllers in anetwork of lighting devices. The gateway controller 401 may include aprocessor 403 and a communications interface that includes a router orswitch 402 with one or more Ethernet ports or optical fiber connectorsconfigured to receive an Ethernet and/or fiber-optic cable. Other typesof cables and connectors may be used, but for purposes of thisdisclosure Ethernet and fiber-optic cables and connectors will be usedas examples.

Each fixture controller 431 n also includes a processor 433 n and, inwired connection embodiments, a switch 432 n having at least two portsthat are each configured to receive an Ethernet or fiber-optic cable.With the ports described above as start and end points, the gatewaycontroller 401 is connected via a communication link 411, such as anEthernet or fiber-optic cable, to form a connection to at least one ofthe fixture controllers 431 a. Alternatively, and/or additionally, thecommunication link 411 may also be a wireless communication link such asa Wi-Fi, a Bluetooth, a NFC network, a mesh network or othercommunication links.

Optionally, each fixture controller may be directly communicativelyconnected to the gateway controller 401. Each fixture controller (e.g.,431 a) may also be similarly connected to at least one other fixturecontroller (e.g., 431 b) via a serial communication link 412, 413 (inthis embodiment, an Ethernet or fiber-optic cable) in a daisy chainconfiguration. In this way, the first fixture controller 431 a in thechain may be connected to the gateway controller 401 and a next fixturecontroller according to a ring topology. The next fixture controller 431b may be connected to the previous fixture controller 431 a and a nextfixture controller in the chain until a final fixture controller 431 nis reached. The final fixture controller 431 n also may be connected tothe gateway controller via a serial communication link 416. In this way,the gateway controller 401 may send commands to each of the lightingdevice's fixture controllers via the various communication links, andthe gateway controller 401 may receive data from each of the lightingdevice's fixture controllers via the various communication links. Insome embodiments, communication may be in a single direction around theloop formed by the devices and communication links; in other embodimentscommunication may be bidirectional in both the clockwise andcounterclockwise directions around the communication links. The ringtopology shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b is optional, and other configurationssuch as a hub-and-spoke configuration (in which the gateway controlleris the hub) or a mesh network may be used.

Any of the lighting device fixture controllers (e.g., 431 n) may beconnected to one or more external devices 451, such as a camera orcomputing device. This connection may be via a wired connection throughan Ethernet or other type of switch 432 n as shown in FIG. 4b , or itmay be a wireless connection via a wireless receiver such as a Wi-Fireceiver 434 n or a short-range communication receiver 435 n such as areceiver configured to receive signals via a Bluetooth™ Low Energy orother communications protocol.

As noted above, the gateway controller 401 also may be communicativelyconnected to the remote server (106 in FIG. 1) and portable electronicdevices (103 in FIG. 1) via one or more communication interfaces tonetworks such as a fiber optic network 441, and/or a wirelesscommunication network such as a local area network, cellular networkand/or the Internet.

Each lighting device will have an associated address, such as anInternet Protocol address. When sending control data to the lightingdevices, the gateway controller may designate the data to be used by alldevices, by a group of the devices, or by individual devices. As eachdevice receives data, its fixture controller may examine the data todetermine whether that data is intended for it. Alternatively, a gatewaycontroller may be configured to be in a “pass-through” mode where itwill forward any received data directly to lighting devices for anyfurther processing. One way in which this may be done is that thegateway controller may associate one or more device addresses with eachset of data. For example, the gateway controller may send a start datasignal, one or more device addresses, and a control data set. If adevice detects (based on the device address that follows the startsignal) that a data set is intended for that device, it may receive andapply that data until the stop command is received. Each device willalso pass the data along to the next interconnected device in thenetwork via the Ethernet or fiber-optic cable.

Optionally, one or more of the lighting devices may add data to the datastream before passing the data stream along to a next device. Forexample, any lighting device's fixture controller 431 b may receive datafrom one or more external or internal sensors, as described above. Thefixture controller may append its device's address to the data stream,so that the data is passed through all lighting devices in the chain andthe fixture controller of the final device 431 n in the chain will passthe data on to the gateway controller 401.

When an external device 451 (such as a camera) is connected to anylighting device's Ethernet switch, the external device also may have anassociated address, and the gateway controller 401 may send data to theexternal device using the external device's address and the wirednetwork described above. Similarly, the fixture controller 431 n towhich any external device 451 is attached may send data from theexternal device to the gateway controller 401 via the data stream justas it may do with any other data as described above.

Several of the communication links shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b are labeledwith communication protocols that may be used to transmit data acrossthe links. Those labels are by way of example only; other communicationprotocols may be used with any or all of the links shown. In addition,in various embodiments, the gateway controller 401 may includeprogramming configured to translate control data received from a firstprotocol into a second protocol that is compatible with the lightingdevices to which the gateway controller will send commands. In this way,the gateway controller 401 serves as a universal protocol gatewaybetween the lighting devices and one or more external devices orsystems. For example, the gateway controller 401 may translate datareceived from the portable electronic device in a NFC communicationprotocol or other wireless protocol (such as Bluetooth™ Low Energy),whereas the gateway controller 401 may communicate with the remoteserver (106 in FIG. 1) in an Ethernet protocol, and/or it may translatedata received and/or it may translate data received in a fiber channelprotocol, and/or it may translate data that it receives via otherprotocols, into a communication protocol that is compatible with that ofthe illumination devices, such as I²C or that described in the AmericanNational Standards Institute (“ANSI”) “Entertainment Technology—USITTDMX512-A—Asynchronous Serial Digital Data Transmission Standard forControlling Lighting Equipment and Accessories”, which is commonlyreferred to a DMX512 or simply DMX. This document will use the term“DMX” to refer to the DMX512 standard, and its various variations,revisions and replacements, including any future revisions orreplacements that may be consistent with the processes described in thisdisclosure.

Returning to FIG. 1, gateway controller 104 may communicate with aproximate portable electronic device 103 via a direct or indirectcommunication link. The gateway controller 104 may communicate with oneor more fixture controllers 111, 112 or any number of fixturecontrollers, each connecting to one or more lighting devices 101, 102.The gateway controller 104 as well as the proximate portable electronicdevice 103 may communicate with the remote server 106 by any number ofcommunication links. The remote server 106 may be a cloud-based serverthat communicates with the other devices via the communication network105.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of controlling one ormore lighting devices in a system such as that disclosed above. Thegateway controller may detect 301 that a portable electronic device onwhich a lighting control application is installed is proximate to thelighting device. Devices are “proximate” to each other if they arewithin a communication range of each other on a local area network orusing a short-range communication or NFC communication protocol.

Short-range communication transceivers are devices that directlycommunicate with each other via relatively short distances on the orderof 100 meters or less, or 10 meters or less. Examples of short-rangetransceivers include those that adhere to short-range communicationprotocols such as ZigBee®, Bluetooth®, and Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE)transceivers, and/or via infrared (IR) light transceivers. NFCtransceivers are ultra-short range transceivers that adhere to one ormore standards for radio frequency communications that may be used whentwo devices are in close proximity, and may include hardware elementssuch as loop antennas that exchange information via electromagneticinduction. Protocols for implementation of NFC may comply with industrystandards such as ISO/IEC 18092 or ISO/IEC 18000-3, published by theInternational Standards Organization. Typical ranges for near fieldcommunications are approximately 10 cm or less, although it may be 20 cmor less, 4 cm or less, or other ranges. By receiving a connectionrequest via a short-range communication protocol or NFC protocol, thegateway controller will thus detect that the mobile electronic device isproximate to the lighting device.

Detection 301 of proximity may occur, for example, by receiving aconnection request from the portable electronic device via a short-rangecommunication or NFC transceiver. Alternatively, the detection 301 mayoccur by receiving a connection request from the portable electronicdevice via a known wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Finetwork that has a limited range and to which the lighting device isalso communicatively connected. By receiving a connection request from amobile electronic device that is communicatively connected to the sameWLAN to which the gateway controller is connected, the gatewaycontroller will thus detect that the mobile electronic device isproximate to the gateway controller.

The gateway controller will also receive, via the communicationinterface, a light operation request 302 from the portable electronicdevice. The communication may occur directly from the portableelectronic device via short-range or NFC communication, or indirectlysuch as via the remote server and one or more networks. The lightoperation request will be one or more data packets that include one ormore settings for one or more optical characteristics of light that theoptical radiation source of the lighting device and/or othercommunicatively connected lighting devices may emit. The one or moreoptical characteristics comprise may include settings such as abrightness or dimming level, color temperature, color, D_(uv), beamshape, and/or beam direction of the light emitted by the opticalradiation source.

The gateway controller may determine whether the portable electronicdevice is authorized to cause the gateway controller to implement thelight operation request 303. If the gateway controller determines thatthe portable electronic device is authorized to initiate the lightoperation request, it will activate one or more lighting devices bycausing the optical radiation source of each lighting device to emitlight that exhibits the one or more optical characteristics of the lightoperation request 304. If the gateway controller determines that theportable electronic device is not authorized to initiate the lightoperation request, it will not implement the request and thus notactivate the optical radiation source according to the request 305.

To determine whether the portable electronic device is authorized tocause the gateway controller to implement the light operation request303, the gateway controller may determine whether the portableelectronic device is associated with a valid unlock token for the lightoperation request. A valid unlock token is a digital identifier that thegateway controller knows represents authorization to activate or changeone or more characteristics of emitted light, such as a code orauthentication token. The gateway controller may receive the unlocktoken from the portable electronic device with the light operationrequest and compare the token with a set of locally or remotely storedauthentication tokens to determine whether the received token matches aknown valid token or adheres to a valid token standard. Alternatively,the gateway controller may receive an account identifier for theportable electronic device, transmit the account identifier to a remoteserver so that the remote server can perform the authentication, andreceive the unlock token from the remote server if the remote serverdetermines that the portable electronic device is authorized to initiatethe light operation request. Alternatively, if the light authorizationrequest is sent to the gateway controller from a remote server, theremote server may send the unlock token to the gateway controller.

Upon determining that the portable electronic device is authorized tosubmit the light operation request, the gateway controller may activateone or more lighting devices according to the selected the one or moreoptical characteristics in the light operation request 304. For example,the gateway controller may send command(s) to the one or more lightingdevices to cause each lighting device's optical radiation source to emitlight that exhibits the optical characteristics values of the lightoperation request. The fixture controller associated with each lightingdevice will implement one or more commands to control operation of theoptical radiation source.

Example methods for altering optical characteristics of LED lights aredisclosed in, for example: (i) U.S. Pat. No. 9,188,307 to Casper et al.,titled “High Intensity LED Illumination Device with AutomatedSensor-Based Control”; (ii) U.S. Pat. No. 9,189,996 to Casper et al.,titled “Selectable, Zone-Based Control for High Intensity LEDIllumination System”; (iii) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/670,659,filed by Nolan et al. and titled “Lighting Device LED Module withEffects for Color Temperature Tuning and Color Tuning”; and (iv) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/670,671, filed by Nolan et al. and titled“Lighting Device LED Module with Effects for Beam Spread Tuning and BeamShaping.” The disclosures of each of these patents and patentapplications are fully incorporated into this document by reference.

The optical characteristics may include a scene, which is a set of datacorresponding to lighting device settings that will yield variousoptical characteristics of the emitted light for a group of networkedlighting devices. For example, a scene may correspond to a type of asport, such as football, soccer, basketball, tennis, table tennis or anyother sports. A scene may also correspond to a type of event, such as adance party, a birthday party, a lecture, a game or a social event. Eachscene may include a set of data corresponding to one or more opticalcharacteristics of at least one of the networked lighting devices. Forexample, a scene for playing football in a football field may includedata that corresponds to full illuminance setting for all of the lightsaround the football field. In another example, a scene for ice skatingin an arena may include data that correspond to certain lights at fullilluminance and certain light at a dimmed level. Alternative scenes forthe arena may include scenes for a basketball game or music concert. Inanother example, a scene for a lecture in a lecture hall may includedata that correspond to a spotlight above the podium at full illuminanceand other lights in the lecture hall at a dimmed level. In another hall,available scenes for a gymnasium may include options for: (i) a gamescene in which all lights in the gym are illuminated at their highestlevel; (ii) a practice scene in which only lights directed to the courtare lighted at a full illuminance level while lights directed tospectator areas are operated at a reduced illuminance level (i.e.,dimmed); and (iii) a half-court scene in which lights directed to afirst half of the court are operated full illuminance while lightsdirected to the second half of the court are operated at a lesserilluminance level. Optionally, a scene may include some setting valueswill change over time. If so, then the scene may include instructionsfor the gateway controller to cause the values of those opticalcharacteristics of the emitted light to change over time according tothe scene.

Optionally, the light operation request may include a time duration. Thetime duration is a data point indicative of a numeric start time, stoptime and/or or a duration for activation of one or more characteristicsof the optical radiation source. If so, then when activating one or morelighting devices according to the selected scene and the time duration,the gateway controller will initiate or maintain the optical radiationsource of the lighting devices in a first condition (such as “on”)according to the selected characteristics at a first time, via thefixture controller associated with each lighting device. Then when atime out condition occurs 306 corresponding to expiration (i.e., the offtime or the end of the duration), the gateway controller will cause thelighting devices to transition to a second operating condition bydeactivating the optical radiation source and/or the selectedcharacteristics 309. Deactivation may include, via the fixturecontroller associated with each lighting device, completely turning thelight off, or returning the light to a default setting that does notinclude all of the selected characteristic values of the light operationrequest. Optionally, the gateway controller may receive an extensionrequest 307 from the mobile electronic device before the time expires.The extension request will include a new (and later) stop time or anextension to the duration. If the gateway controller determines that themobile electronic device is authorized to extend the time of operationaccording to the extension request (using authorization procedures suchas those described above), the gateway controller will continue toactivate the optical radiation source 308 with the requestedcharacteristic values until the extended time expires, at which time thefixture controller will deactivate the light as described above.

Now, with reference to FIG. 5, an example of a diagram of a process inthe portable electronic device and/or other components of the system isfurther explained. A portable electronic device may include a processorand a display having a user interface. The portable electronic devicemay include or have access to a non-transitory computer readable mediumcontaining the programming instructions. The programming instructions,when executed, may cause the processor to: pair (and/or detect that theportable electronic device has paired) with a gateway controller inproximity to the portable electronic device 501; identify one or morescenes 502; cause the user interface to display the one or more scenes503; receive, via the user interface, a user selection of a scene fromthe one or more scenes and a desired time duration 504; generate orotherwise identify a light operation request comprising the selectedscene and the time duration 505; and transmit the light operationrequest to the gateway controller to cause the gateway controller toactivate at least one of the one or more lighting devices according tothe selected scene and the desired time duration 506.

In identifying the one or more scenes 502, in some scenarios, theportable electronic device may receive the scenes from the gatewaycontroller after pairing with the gateway controller. For example, eachgateway controller may store one or more available scenes thatcorrespond to a type of sport or event suitable for the lighting devicesthat are installed at the premises where the gateway controller isinstalled and controlled by the gateway controller. Upon pairing with aproximate gateway controller, a portable electronic device may receivedata about the available scenes from the gateway controller and displaythese scenes on its display for user selection. Alternatively, uponpairing with a gateway controller, the portable electronic device maytransmit an identifier of the gateway controller to a remote server,which may responsively return a set of available scenes for theidentified gateway controller. In another alternative embodiment(explained in more detail below in FIG. 8) the portable electronicdevice may receive, from a remote server, available scenes for multiplegateway controllers located in a geographic area.

As illustrated above, the gateway controller may first determine whetherthe portable electronic device is authorized to initiate the lightoperation request before activating one or more lighting devicesaccording to the selected scene and the time duration. Upon determiningthe light operation request has been authorized, the gateway controllermay transmit a message indicating such authorization to the portableelectronic device. Correspondingly, the portable electronic device maybe configured to receive a message from the gateway controller and causethe user interface to output a confirmation message indicating that thelight operation request has been authorized 507.

To determine whether a light operation request is authorized, in somescenarios, the gateway controller may determine whether the portableelectronic device has provided valid user credential information, suchas user account identification information and/or user password. Theportable electronic device may transmit such user credential informationto the gateway controller, which in turn transmits the same credentialinformation to the remote server for authorization.

Alternatively, the portable electronic device may directly communicatewith the remote server and transmit the user credential to the remoteserver via an encrypted connection, such as the secure sockets layer(SSL) protocol, in which case the remote server may signal to thegateway controller or the remote electronic device that the lightauthorization request is authorized. In addition, the portableelectronic device may also include the account identifier associatedwith the portable electronic device in the user credential data.

If the authorization is given to the gateway controller by the remotesever or portable electronic device, then the gateway controller maywait to receive the authorization before the gateway controller willsend commands to cause any of its networked lighting devices toimplement the light operation request. If the authorization is given tothe portable electronic device controller by the remote sever or thegateway controller, then the portable electronic device may wait toreceive the authorization before it will send the light operationrequest to the gateway device.

In a non-limiting example, a remote server may be configured to receivethe credential data from the portable electronic device, where thecredential data includes the account identifier. When a gatewaycontroller communicates with the remote server to request authorizationof a light operation request from a portable electronic device, thegateway controller transmits data in the light operation request and theaccount identifier associated with the portable electronic device thatinitiated the light operation request. Upon receiving the lightoperation request and account identifier from the gateway controller,the remote server compares the account identifier it received from thegateway controller with the account identifier received from theportable electronic device directly, to determine the corresponding usercredential information associated with the account identifier. Then theremote server uses the user credential information to determine whetherthe light operation request is authorized. Upon determining that thelight operation request is authorized, the remote server may transmit tothe gateway controller a confirmation message indicating that theportable electronic device is authorized to initiate the light operationrequest. Subsequently, the gateway controller may transmit theconfirmation message to the portable electronic device.

Optionally, a light operation request may include a command to operate asingle lighting device, multiple lighting devices, or all lightingdevices in a system that is communicatively connected to the gatewaycontroller. For example, the light operation request may include one ormore settings for one or more optical characteristics of light that afirst lighting device may emit and different settings for opticalcharacteristics of light emitted by a second lighting device. To dothis, the light operation request may include an identifier for eachlighting device to which commands will be directed, such as an addressof the lighting device, or it may include a general command such as“apply the light operation request to all connected lighting devices.”

FIG. 6 illustrates an example portable electronic device 601 with userinterface 602. The user interface 602 may be a touch-sensitive displaydevice. In other embodiments, instead of or in addition to the displaythe user interface may include other user input/output hardware such asa microphone and/or audio speaker, a keyboard or keypad, or another userinterface device. The user interface 602 may include a fixture selector603 via which the user may select one or more lighting devices tocontrol, and a time selector 604 via which a user may enter a timeduration 614 that may include a start time, stop time or duration.(Alternatively, the system may identify a default time duration, whichmay be part of a scene or part of other programming instructions.) Theuser interface 602 also may include any number of lightingcharacteristics selectors 605, 606 via which the user may enter valuesfor one or more user-selectable settings for characteristics of thelight to be emitted by the selected lighting device(s). The system maydisplay various candidate user-selectable settings 615, such as a dataentry field, a list of options or another selector, for characteristicsthat the user is authorized to select. For any settings that are lockedfor the user's account (i.e., not yet unlocked because the user is notyet authorized to implement the settings), the user-selectable settings616 may be displayed in a non-selectable format, such as a shield oroverlay, or in a greyscale or other format that is not actuatable by theuser until the user unlocks the setting. The user interface also mayinclude an actuator 621 via which the user may unlock the setting, suchas a purchasing interface by which a user may purchase access to therelevant feature.

Optionally, the user interface may include a scene selector 607 viawhich the user may select a scene that includes a set of one or morecharacteristics for one or more lights, in which the setting value forat least some of the characteristic(s) will change over time. Theavailable values 617 may include pre-defined scenes, or the system mayprovide a scene creator user interface via which the user may select thesettings, lighting devices and times that will define a new scene oradjust a pre-defined scene.

FIG. 7 illustrates a process that a portable electronic device mayfollow to initiate a light operation request for one or more proximatelighting devices. The portable electronic device may include a userinterface that outputs various candidate optical characteristics for theoptical radiation source 701. For at least some of the candidate opticalcharacteristics, the user interface may also display user-selectablesettings. The system also may output lock/unlock (as discussed in FIG.6) status indicia 702 of whether an account associated with portableelectronic device or its user has unlocked the ability to selectsettings for each characteristic. For example, for characteristics thatare not locked, user-selectable settings may be presented in auser-selectable format, such as a data entry field, list, or otherstructure. Characteristics for which user-selectable settings that arelocked will not be displayed in a user-selectable format, and may bedisplayed in grayscale, in shielded format, or with other indiciashowing that they are locked, or they may not be displayed at all.

For any characteristic that is locked, the user may input (and theportable electronic device may receive via the user interface) an unlockrequest 703 and transmit the unlock request to the gateway controller.If so, the gateway controller may generate and transmit to a remoteserver a command to charge a user's account an amount required to unlockthe setting 705. Upon receiving confirmation from the remote server thatthe account has been charged, the gateway controller may send to theportable electronic device an unlock code, e.g., an unlock token, tounlock 705 the characteristic so that the user can select the value ofthat characteristic's setting. Alternatively, and/or additionally, theportable electronic device may directly send the unlock request to theremote server and receive an unlock code from the remote server.

When the portable electronic device receives, via the user interface, aselection of at least one of the candidate optical characteristics and avalue for an associated setting for each selected optical characteristic711, it will generate a light operation request 712 as data comprisingeach of the one or more selected optical characteristics and itsassociated setting's value and an account identifier. The portableelectronic device will then transmit 713 the light operation request tothe gateway controller via an NFC or short range communication protocol.

FIG. 8 illustrates a user interface 801 that may be used to schedulelighting services at any of a group of lighting-enabled facilities ingeographic region that is proximate to the portable electronic device.Various lighting facilities 803, 805, 811, 812 are represented on themap by location. Alternatively, available lighting facilities may berepresented in a list or other format, optionally with identifyinginformation describing the types of light-enabled locations that areavailable at the facility (e.g., basketball court, hockey rink, baseballfield, soccer/lacrosse field, and the like). Each of the facilitiesshown in the user interface is light-enabled in that it will include agateway controller and lighting devices as previously described in thisdocument.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, a remote server may use geolocationdata, such as that received from a GPS sensor of the portable electronicdevice or general location knowledge of the cellular network receiver towhich the portable electronic device connects, to identify the locationof the portable electronic device 901. The remote server then accesses adatabase of light-enabled facilities to identify those that are within ageographic distance range from the device's location 902. The databasemay store location data for each facility and identify those facilitieswhose associated location is within the range of the device's location.The range may be a predetermined range (such as a distance from thedevice's location), or the user interface may receive a user-definedrange.

Optionally, database also may include scheduling information about eachfacility. If so, the server may retrieve lighting service schedules foreach facility for a current time, and optionally for one or more futuretime periods from the database 903. The server may transmit datareflecting the lighting service schedules to the portable electronicdevice so that the portable electronic device may display the schedulingdata on its user interface 904. For example, referring back to FIG. 8facilities 803, 805 that are available at the current time may bedisplayed with a first icon and facilities 811, 812 that are in use andnot currently available may be displayed with a second (different) icon.Other visually distinguishable availability indicators such as text,color, or pop-up may be used as well.

Returning to FIG. 9, the server may then receive a light operationrequest 905 that includes a selection of at least one of the displayedlight-enabled facilities, a service time that corresponds to anavailable lighting service schedule, and a scene (which may simply be adefault scene such as “turn all lights on”), and a future time periodfrom the remote electronic device. The remote server may authenticatethe request (using user account information as described in previousembodiments) 906 and transmit the scene initiation request and scheduleto the gateway controller of the selected facility 907. The gatewaycontroller of the selected facility will then operate the lights at thatfacility according to the schedule and scene using procedures such asthat described above in (for example) FIG. 5. Optionally, the gatewaycontroller may only initiate the scene if and after it detects that theportable electronic device, or another portable electronic device thatis associated with the user's account in proximity of the light-enabledfacility. The gateway controller may detect the portable electronicdevice's location by having paired with the portable electronic device(e.g., by short-range or near-filed communication as previouslydiscussed), or by receiving data from the remote server indicating thatthe remote server has received geolocation data from the portableelectronic device indicating that the device is proximate to the gatewaycontroller.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of hardware that may be included in any ofthe electronic devices described above, such as the gateway controller,the portable electronic device, the fixture controller, the remoteserver or the lighting device. A bus 1000 serves as an informationhighway interconnecting the other illustrated components of thehardware. The bus may be a physical connection between elements of thesystem, or a wired or wireless communication system via which variouselements of the system share data. Processor 1005 is a processing deviceof the system performing calculations and logic operations required toexecute a program. Processor 1005, alone or in conjunction with one ormore of the other elements disclosed in FIG. 10, is an example of aprocessing device, computing device or processor as such terms are usedwithin this disclosure. The processing device may be a physicalprocessing device, a virtual device contained within another processingdevice, or a container included within a processing device. If theelectronic device is a gateway controller, processor 1005 may be acomponent of the gateway controller. If the electronic device is aremote server, processor 1005 may be a component of a server on acloud-computing network. If the electronic device is a lighting device,processor 1005 may be a component of a fixture controller if the fixturecontroller is an internal component of the lighting device, and thedevice would also include a power supply and optical radiation source asdiscussed above.

A memory device 1010 is a hardware element or segment of a hardwareelement on which programming instructions, data, or both may be stored.An optional display interface 1030 may permit information to bedisplayed on the display 1035 in audio, visual, graphic or alphanumericformat. Communication with external devices, such as a printing device,may occur using various communication interfaces 1040, such as acommunication port, antenna, or near-field or short-range transceiver. Acommunication interface 1040 may be communicatively connected to acommunication network, such as the Internet or an intranet.

The hardware may also include a user interface sensor 1045 which allowsfor receipt of data from input devices such as a keyboard or keypad1050, or other input device 1055 such as a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a remote control, a pointing device, a video input device and/ora microphone. Data also may be received from an image capturing device1020 such as a digital camera or video camera. A positional sensor 1060and/or motion sensor 1070 may be included to detect position andmovement of the device. Examples of motion sensors 1070 includegyroscopes or accelerometers. Examples of positional sensors 1060 suchas a global positioning system (GPS) sensor device that receivesgeolocation data from an external GPS network.

The features and functions described above, as well as alternatives, maybe combined into many other different systems or applications. Variousalternatives, modifications, variations or improvements may be made bythose skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to beencompassed by the disclosed embodiments.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for controlling one or morelighting devices, the system comprising: a portable electronic devicecomprising a processor and a user interface; and a memory devicecontaining programming instructions for a lighting system controlapplication that is configured to cause the processor to: detect thatthe portable electronic device has paired with a gateway controller inproximity to the portable electronic device, wherein the gatewaycontroller is communicatively coupled to one or more fixturecontrollers, and each fixture controller is connected to one or morelighting devices in a network of lighting devices, identify one or morescenes, each scene comprising a set of data corresponding to one or moreoptical characteristics of at least a first lighting device in thenetwork, cause the user interface to display the one or more scenes,receive, via the user interface, a user selection of a scene from theone or more scenes, identify a time duration for the selected scene,generate a light operation request comprising the selected scene and thetime duration, confirm that the portable electronic device is authorizedto initiate the light operation request, and transmit the lightoperation request to the gateway controller to cause the gatewaycontroller to activate at least the first lighting device according tothe selected scene and the time duration.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the light operation request is configured to, when received bythe gateway controller, cause the gateway controller to initiate ormaintain at least the first lighting device in a first condition at afirst time, and then switch the at least one lighting device to a secondcondition when the time duration expires.
 3. The system of claim 2,wherein: the light operation request also comprises an accountidentifier associated with the portable electronic device; and theprogramming instructions to confirm that the portable electronic deviceis authorized to initiate the light operation request compriseinstructions to cause the processor to: transmit credential datacomprising the account identifier to a remote server via a communicationnetwork, and determine that the portable electronic device is authorizedto initiate the light operation request when the portable electronicdevice receives a confirmation from the remote server in response to thecredential data.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory devicecontains additional programming instructions configured to cause theprocessor to: cause the user interface to output a plurality ofcandidate optical characteristics for the selected scene and, for eachof the candidate optical characteristics: a user-selectable setting, andindicia of whether an account associated with the portable electronicdevice has unlocked an ability to adjust the user-selectable setting;receive, via the user interface, a request to unlock a firstuser-selectable setting for which the ability to adjust is locked;transmit a command to the gateway controller or a remote server tocharge, to the account, an amount that is assigned to the firstuser-selectable setting; upon receipt of confirmation that the accounthas been charged the amount, unlock the ability to adjust the firstuser-selectable setting; receive, via the user interface, a value forfirst the user-selectable setting; and generate the light operationrequest to include the value for the first user-selectable setting. 5.The system of claim 1, further comprising additional programminginstructions configured to cause the processor to: receive, from thegateway controller, a signal indicating that the time duration is aboutto expire; receive, via the user interface, a request to extend the timeduration to an extended time; and transmit the request to extend thetime duration to the gateway controller so that the gateway controllermay cause at least the first lighting device to continue to emit lightthat exhibits the settings for the one or more optical characteristicsthrough the extended time.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein theprogramming instructions to identify the one or more scenes compriseprogramming instructions to receive the one or more scenes from thegateway controller in response to the portable electronic device pairingwith the gateway controller.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein theprogramming instructions to identify the one or more scenes compriseprogramming instructions to: cause the portable electronic device to,upon pairing with the gateway controller, transmit an identifier for thegateway controller to a remote server; and cause the portable electronicdevice to receive, from the remote server in response to transmitting anidentifier, a set of available scenes for the network of lightingdevices.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more opticalcharacteristics comprise: a brightness or dimming level; colortemperature; color; D_(uv); beam shape; or beam direction.
 9. The systemof claim 1, wherein: the portable electronic device further comprises awireless communication interface configured to communicate with thegateway controller, wherein the communication interface comprises ashort-range or near-field antenna; and the instructions to detect thatthe portable electronic device has paired with the gateway controllercomprise instructions to, by the portable electronic device, receive asignal directly from a short-range or near field transmitter of thegateway controller.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein: the memorydevice also includes programming instructions that are configured tocause the processor to: detect geolocation data indicating a location ofthe portable electronic device, cause the portable electronic device toreceive, from the remote server, availability data for a plurality oflocal light-enabled facilities that are within a distance range of thelocation, each of which comprises a gateway controller and a pluralityof lighting devices, output, via a user interface, identifyinginformation for the plurality of light-enabled facilities so that a usercan select one of the local light-enabled facilities to which to directthe light operation request; and wherein: the programming instructionsto transmit the light operation request to the gateway controllercomprise instructions to cause the remote server to transmit the lightoperation request to the gateway controller of the selected locallight-enabled facility, and the instructions detect that the portableelectronic device has paired with the gateway controller compriseinstructions to do so when the portable electronic device is at theuser-selected light-enabled facility and proximate to the gatewaycontroller.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of thememory device is a component of the portable electronic device.
 12. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the memory device is acomponent of a remote server that is in communication with the portableelectronic device.
 13. A method for controlling one or more lightingdevices in a network of lighting devices, the method comprising: by aprocessor, executing programming instructions that are configured tocause a portable electronic device to: detect that the portableelectronic device has paired with a gateway controller that is proximateto the portable electronic device, wherein the gateway controller iscommunicatively coupled to one or more fixture controllers, and each ofthe fixture controllers is connected to one or more lighting devices ina network of lighting devices, identify one or more scenes, each scenecomprising a set of data corresponding to one or more opticalcharacteristics of at least a first lighting device in the network,cause a user interface of the portable electronic device to output theone or more scenes, receive, via the user interface, a user selection ofa scene from the one or more scenes, identify a time duration for theselected scene, identify a light operation request comprising theselected scene and the time duration, and transmit the light operationrequest to the gateway controller to cause the gateway controller toactivate at least the first lighting device according to the selectedscene and the time duration.
 14. The method of claim 13 furthercomprising, by the gateway controller: receiving the light operationrequest; and initiating or maintaining at least the first lightingdevice in a first condition at a first time, and then switching at leastthe first lighting device to a second condition when the time durationexpires.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein: the light operationrequest also comprises an account identifier associated with theportable electronic device; the method further comprises, by theportable electronic device: confirming that the portable electronicdevice is authorized to initiate the light operation request, whereinthe confirming comprises: transmitting credential data the accountidentifier to a remote server, and determining that the portableelectronic device is authorized to initiate the light operation requestwhen the portable electronic device receives a confirmation from theremote server in response to the credential data; and the method furthercomprises, by the portable electronic device, transmitting theconfirmation to the gateway controller.
 16. The method of claim 15,further comprising, by the portable electronic device: receiving, fromthe gateway controller, a confirmation that the light operation requesthas been authorized; and causing the user interface to display theconfirmation.
 17. The method of claim 13 further comprising, by theportable electronic device, before transmitting the light operationrequest to the gateway controller: causing the user interface to outputa plurality of candidate optical characteristics for the selected scene,and for each of the candidate optical characteristics: a user-selectablesetting, and indicia of whether an account associated with the portableelectronic device has unlocked an ability to adjust the user-selectablesetting; receiving, via the user interface, a request to unlock a firstuser-selectable setting for which the ability to adjust is locked;transmitting, to the gateway controller or a remote server, a command tocharge, to the account, an amount that is assigned to the firstuser-selectable setting; upon receipt of confirmation that the accounthas been charged the amount, unlocking the ability to adjust the firstuser-selectable setting; receiving, via the user interface, a value forthe first user-selectable setting; and causing the light operationrequest to include the value for the user-selectable setting.
 18. Themethod of claim 13 further comprising: by the portable electronicdevice: receiving, from the gateway controller, a signal indicating thatthe time duration is about to expire, receiving, via the user interface,a request to extend the time duration to an extended time, andtransmitting the request to extend the time duration to the gatewaycontroller; and by the gateway controller, causing at least the firstlighting device to continue to emit light that exhibits the settings forthe one or more optical characteristics through the extended time. 19.The method of claim 13, wherein identifying the one or more scenescomprises, by the portable electronic device, receiving the one or morescenes from the gateway controller in response to the portableelectronic device pairing with the gateway controller.
 20. The method ofclaim 13 wherein identifying the one or more scenes comprises, by theportable electronic device: upon pairing with the gateway controller,transmitting an identifier for the gateway controller to a remoteserver; and receiving, from the remote server in response totransmitting the identifier, a set of available scenes for the networkof lighting devices.